ESLB3053

LANGUAGE AND POLITICS

LANGUAGE AND POLITICS

TOPICS

1. Introduction
2. What do we mean by politics?
3. Tools for persuasion
4. Analyzing everyday conversations
5. Summary

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1. Introduction

Examine political
speeches, the politics of
Definition of politics families, politics in
everyday conversations
and in new media

Linguistic tool – how

persuasion works and
how power relations are
built and sustained

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2. What do we mean by politics?

• The word ‘politics’ is related to politicians, governments, law making and international
conflicts.
• Term that is connected to those who run nations, states and cities.
• A narrow definition of politics is it deals with decision making and government. In this
term, it relates to politicians.
• In a democracy, government creates laws that the public have to live by.
• Therefore, the notion of power is important when it relates to politics. It is because the
government has the power to make decisions that affect the nation as a whole.
• A broader definitions of politics can be understood as any social relationship which deals
with power, governing and authority.
• Example of social relationships are a doctor has an authority over a patient, friends can have
power over friends and parents have the authority and power to ‘govern’ the family.
• Therefore, politics is not just limited to institutions.

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3. Tools for persuasion

• The power of language in persuading people to not only hear but listen and believe to
whatever we are saying especially politicians.
• The art of persuasion is called as rhetoric – the use of language to persuade or
convince the hearer.
• Rhetoric is a practical skill – a tool to persuade audience back in ancient Greece.
• There are five step processes for speech making;
i. invention / idea
ii. arrangement
iii. style
iv. memory
v. delivery
• By following these steps, a speaker will be able to deliver a believable and persuasive
speech.
• Important step is style or known as elocution (rhetorical terms). Focus on how to word the
argument, how to shape the text to become as persuasive as possible. It is fundamental
for communication and persuasion.

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 • The way someone shapes and styles a message can have a strong influence on how we
as hearers or readers understand the message.
• Examine example of political speech by Barack Obama during his election campaign in 2008.

“Yes we can”
i) Pronoun ‘we’ – to have the sense of belonging, unity
and togetherness.

ii) Use inclusively – refer to the same group of people.

Eg: “Yes we can”
- Refer to the American citizens regardless their religions,
ethnicity, skin colour.
iii) Use exclusively – refer to other people than those in the
group.
Eg: “We are working hard to fix this economic problem”
- Refer to those who are not in the group.
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3.1 Analyzing a political speech

• Obama delivered his inaugural address – a speech which presented the main themes of
his policy. It is informational, about emotions and connecting with people of the USA.
• The inaugural speech contains many rhetorical figures which is used to make people of
America to believe in him as the president.
• He begins by addressing the nation – ‘My fellow citizens’. The phrase creates a feeling of
inclusion for the hearer. While Bush address the public as ‘My fellow Americans’. This
shows that Obama includes all ethnicities and nationalities as his citizens.
• He consistently used the word ‘we’ – establishes his focus on unity and inclusion: ‘We are a
nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non – believers. We are
shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth’.
• Politicians use language to promote, protect and legitimate their power and voice of
authority and rationalize their visions of political order and their representations of
harmony.
• Political speeches are important in translating those visions and representations of reality into
words.
• Presidential speeches are elaborately composed, scrupulously revised and edited – resulting
in numerous drafts – in order to carry the voice of authority and power of the president while
they are carefully crafted to be heard as the voice of the collectivity. (Omar, 2006).

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3.1.1 Metaphor

• Aristotle defines metaphor as ‘giving the thing a name that belongs to something else’.
• Metaphor is mainly used in poetry to create verbal images, to create pictures in our minds.
• Ricoeur (1994) said that metaphor has rhetorical functions and it is used widely in politics.
• Example, Obama stated that ‘the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging
storms’. He uses this metaphor to symbolize that the presidential oath was taken when the
nation had problems and conflicts.
• He does not have to explicitly state what the issues are but rather making associations with
the weather (storms and clouds) where it happens naturally and so does conflicts and
problems can arise.
• Eg: i) Our nation’s economy is strongly developed despite the changes in the current
weather.
• Why use metaphor?
i) to sound politely.
ii) don’t have to say or state what the real issues are.
iii) as a tool to understand new and complex ideas by using familiar language.
iv) in politics, it makes the this / issue / concept seems positive or negative.

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3.1.2. Simile

• Simile establishes an association by saying that something is ‘like’ or ‘as’ something

else.
• A typical example, my love is like a red rose.
• Eg: She is a good boss because she acts like a man.
• The simile creates a connection between the woman’s leading abilities and her masculine
behavior.
• This example shows that how political language is present in everyday life.
• Eg: GST is good as it helps to boost our economy.
•

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3.1.3 The rule of three

• We are familiar with the rule of three from writing, speeches and film.
• The rule of three is important especially in fairytales, where characters and actions always
occur in series of three such as ‘goldilocks and the three bears, three little pigs.
• The rule of three makes it easier to remember when trying to make a point.
• Particularly in speech, the rule of three provides a rhythm in which is pleasing and often
persuasive.
• Eg: i) Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley.
ii) it’s not small, it’s big, it’s important.
iii) That’s the future we hope. That’s the vision we share. That’s where we should go.

• Example of Barrack Obama’s speech:

“We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking
America”.

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3.1.4 Parallelism

• Definition – two sentences or more are placed next to each other and have similar
syntactic structure, sound and meaning.
• It adds balance and rhythm to sentences and a smooth flow of ideas because of its
repetition.
• Examples: 1) Like father, like son.
2) Easy come, easy go.
3) Whether in class, at work or at home, Sasa was always busy.
4) Flying is fast, comfortable and safe.

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• Example in Obama’s speech:
1) ‘On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over
conflict and discord.

2) On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the
recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics’.

3) My fellow citizens, I stand here today by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have
bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

4) Homes have been lost, jobs shed, business shattered.

5) Rather, it has been the risk takers, the doers, the makers of things.

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3.1.5 Euphemism and dyseuphemism

• Euphemism and dyseuphemism are polite expressions used in place of words or

phrases that might be considered harsh / unpleasant to hear.
• There are two types of euphemism which are to soften an expression and to be polite.
• Examples:
i) passed away or departed instead of died.
ii) correctional facility instead of jail.
iii) collateral damage instead of accidental deaths.
• iv) use the restroom instead of go to the bathroom.
vi) sanitation engineer instead of garbage man.

• Example of George W. Bush’s speech;

i) “On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country.
ii) “Fellow citizens, we’ll meet violence with patience justice – assured of the rightness of our
cause and confident of the victories to come”.

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3.1.6 Presuppositions and Implicature

• Presuppositions and implicature – terms used to describe assumptions which can be

drawn from a text or what someone communicates but does not make explicit.
• Means that someone can have an intended message but does not state this message
openly.
• Using these techniques, the speaker can say that “I didn’t actually say that”.
• Both presuppositions and implicature are part of normal everyday communication.
• Presuppositions – a background assumption embedded within a sentence or phrase.
The assumption is taken for granted even though the whole sentence is true.
• Eg: “We will introduce a fairer funding formula” – presupposes that the current funding
formula is not fair.
• Implicature – a meaning which can be extracted but it is implicit rather than explicit.
• Eg: “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas” – implies that some people regard dogs as a
short – term rather than a long – term responsibility.

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3.1.7 New Media

• Digital technology and the internet has become a place for social engagement.
• Political discussions and ideological debate are frequent in online communities.
• When traditional mass media (TV and radio) are subjected to censorship and restrictions,
new media has made it possible for ‘everyone’ to participate in exchanging information.
• Digital communication technology – new type of social networks is a new way of doing
politics and new way of using language.
• Example of new media You-Tube channel – everyone can share and post their videos about
anything, Twitter – sharing tweets, getting information worldwide

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4. Analyzing everyday conversations

• Metaphors, pronouns, contrastive pairs and three-part statements – important tools in

political speeches.
• Everyday conversations – different members of the family have authority over each other and
can influence the way other members act and think, friends can have power over other
friends, man can have power over woman in a conversation.
• “Conversational dominance” – phrase used to refer to strategies which enable speakers
to dominate their partners in talk.
• The way one party in a conversation can dominate the other is a clear example of situations
where the struggle for power is won.

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5. Summary

• Wherever there is power there is politics; wherever there is politics there is power.
• Different people use different ways of using language in exerting power.
• As language producers, we all have the ability to shape our messages in particular ways and
thus influence the minds of our addressees.
• As audience members, it is important to be aware of the biasness that different media
broadcasters have and when listening to politicians or other people with authority, it is
important that we are critical about what we hear and see.

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THANK YOU

u n i t a r. my